John happebsbeegeb



/ (No Model.)

J. HAPPERSBERGER.

' ELECTRIC GLOGK MOVEMENT.

No. 278,946. Patented June 5,1883.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

"JOHN HAPPERSBERGER, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE CINCIN- NATI ELECTRIC CLOCK COMPANY.

ELECTRIC CLOCK MOVEMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 278,946, dated June 5, 1883,

Application filed September 15, 1882. (No model.)

To alZ'whom, it may concern..-

Be it known that I, J OHN HAPPERSBERGER, of the city of Cincinnati, in the county of I-Ianr ilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Clock \Vork, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which the figure is a representation in elevation of the interior of my mechanism, one face-plate being removed.

My invention relates to that part of an electric clock mechanism by which the hands of the clock are operated; and its object is to simplify the construction of the mechanism and I5 render its operation more efficient than the mechanism now employed for a like purpose. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which A is the ratchet-wheel, to the arbor of which the hands are connected, either directly or by intermediate gear.

A is a lever, which is pivoted by an arbor, a, between two plates, A", one of which is re- 2 5 moved in the drawing to show the various parts. 'To the end X of this lever A is attached the armature a, which is immediately above the electro-magnet B, only one of the coils of which is shown in the drawing, the other being im- 3o mediately behind it. From the opposite end of the lever A hangs the pawl 11, which is connected to the lever A by a pivotal connection, so as to be freely movable, the free end of the pawl resting against the periphery of the ratch- 3 5 et-wheel A, and is held against said wheel by a weight attached to the opposite side of the pawl, as shown at b. A spring, as shown by the dotted line 2, may be used to accomplish the same purpose; but I prefer the weight.

A dog, C, is pivoted at one end by an arbor between the plates A above the wheel A, and the free end of the dog is provided with a square lug, c, which is capable of dropping into the notches in the periphery of the ratchet-wheel A. From one side of the dog C projects a pin, d, under which passes a hook, D, attached to the lever A in such a manner that when the end X of the lever is elevated the hook D will lift the free end of the dog.

fi s connected to the battery.

To the end X of the lever A, and near its pivotal point, is attached one end of the spiral spring E, the other end of the spring being attached to the plate A at c.

The usual wires, f and g, for conducting the electric current to and from the'electro-m'ag- 5 5 nets 13, are present. One of these wires-say The other wire,

9, (which is attached to the coil immediately behind coil 13,) and a second wire from the battery are so connected to a time mechanism as that the action of the time mechanism shall operate to unite or close the circuit for an in stant or short period of time, and break said circuit for a longer and definite period of time. Any desired form and construction of time 6 5 mechanism to accomplish this purpose may be employed. One form of such mechanism is shown in Letters Patent of the United States No. 226, 401, for improvement in electric clocks, granted to John Happersberger, and dated April 13, 1880.

The manner in which my invention, as above described, operates is as follows: Let us suppose the ratchet-wheel A made with sixty teeth and the time mechanism adjusted to close the circuit once every minute. Immediately upon the closing of the circuit the electro-magnetic coils B become magnetized and the armature ais attracted to the coils, and by this means the end X of the lever A is elevated, and the hook D lifts the dog C until the lug c is free from the notches in the ratchet-wheel, and at the same time the pawl 11 is lifted until its free end drops into the notch in the wheel A, which is immediately above the one it rested in when 8 5 the lever was depressed. The electric circuit is now broken, and the spring E causes the end X of the lever A to be depressed; and the end of the pawl 11 being in one of the notches of the ratchet-wheel, the latter is caused to turn, which. in turn moves the hands of the clock. The hook D keeps the lug c on the dog C disengaged from a notch in the wheel until the wheel has turned sufiiciently to allow the dog to rest on one of the projections between the 5 notches, and the lever continuing to descend and the wheel still being turned, as soon as one of the notches comes under the lug c the dog drops and the parts assume the position shown in the drawing, the ratchetwheel being virtually locked and prevented from turning in either direction until the electric circuit is again closed when the lever A is again lifted and the same movements gone through with as before described, the minute-hand recording one minute on the dial-plate at each move ment.

By the above description it will be seen that the construction is very simple, only one lever being required, which lever operates both the pawl and the dog by which the l'zlfl'llOT-WIIQOl A is operated and locked.

If desired, the spiral spring B may be replaced by any other form of spring; or it may be entirely omitted, the end of the lever A'being weighted sufficiently to cause it to fall when the circuit is broken.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In an electric clock, the lever A, pivoted at a, the armature a, and the electro-magnet B, located at the end X of said lever A, and the spring E, the hook D, and the pawl I), located at the end X of said lever, in combination with the ratchet-wheelA and the dog 0, engaging with the teeth of said ratchet-wheel A, sub stantially as and for the purpose specified.

The foregoing specification of my invention signed by me this 29th day of August, A. I). 1882. I

JOHN HAPPERSBERG ER.

'Witnesses:

JOHN D. GALLAGHER, JOHN W. KIRK. 

